Christmas should be a time of great joy, but in modern times, it's come to be a time of unparalleled expenses. If you're looking to be frugal during the holidays, here are some of the best times and places to buy Christmas gifts for your relatives and friends.
Garage sales, yard sales, and fle...

Toys become collectors' items usually decades after they stop being produced, but no line has been so popular for so long as McDonald's Happy Meal toys. Since 1979, the McDonald's chain of restaurants has placed small plastic toys -- often relating to a current TV show, popular toy, or movie t...

When browsing the items at an estate sale, it's easy to forget that you aren't at just another secondhand shopping experience. But it's important to keep in mind that estate sales almost always happen after someone has passed away, and it's a chance for the relatives to see the deceased's thin...

The practice of being beautiful runs pretty rampant in the U.S. -- even people who aren't overly obsessed with appearance use products every day to improve their looks to some extent. Buying beauty accessories can really eat up your budget, so making the decision to purchase them secondhand ma...

About midway through a season, clothing stores have sales where they start heavily discounting the merchandise for the previous season's weather. They're a great temptation to spend lots of money creating your immediate wardrobe and your wardrobe almost a year into the future. However, r...

We won't go so far as to say we approve of and advocate being an early bird, but for those who like their garage saling early, there are some things you can do for yourself to make the experience more pleasant. (Just be sure you're keeping others in mind, and that you're making their mornings ...

Most houses aren't like the household of the Toy Story franchise when it comes to playthings -- toys get kept and sold, broken and preserved. At the end of the day, your children will go through a lot of toys, and if you're an accommodating parent, you'll want to replace them with an inexpensi...

Part of the fun of going on a vacation is taking in the local shops. Instead of browsing the expensive boutiques on your next trip out of town, why not visit local garage sales instead? Shopping yard sales out of town can be a harrowing experience if not properly planned, so make sure to...

Your children feel rewarded when you wake them up at 4 a.m. to join you.
· The sound of pouring rain is one of the most disappointing noises to you in the world.
· "Be Prepared," from The Lion King, is your pre-sunrise theme...

Plotting yourself an effective garage saling route can be a challenge. The mapping part is simple enough -- MapQuest or Google Maps can take care of that for you -- but putting them all in the right order is the tough bit. Want some advice? Well, it's here anyway. You can kee...